Teaching Kids Life Skills: How to Get Them Involved in Household Chores Ep. 16

Educating Kids & Connecting Families with Christine Furman

In episode 16 of "Educating Kids and Connecting Families," host Christine Furman discusses how to get kids involved in household tasks and teach them important life skills. She shares her own experiences of teaching her children to do laundry, empty the dishwasher, and clean up their toys. Christine emphasizes the importance of teaching these skills in phases and providing clear instructions. She also offers tips for spring cleaning with kids and finding a balance between decluttering and preserving sentimental items. Tune in to learn how to make chores a part of your child's routine and foster independence and responsibility.

Quotes from today’s episode:

• "And we can actually have our kids help out with these tasks and teach them at a very young age."
• "Think about it. When we learn how to read, we learn the abcs first... Same thing with math... So why can't we teach our kids life skills in phases?"
• "They never were in the way. They were part of my day... they are part of my day, never in my way."
• "It's all about the time. It's about the moments with you and talking with them, conversating with them."
• "We may just want a break, right? We may just want to go zone out and do the laundry ourselves or just do the dishes ourselves. But sometimes it's a perfect teaching moment to be able to show our kids some of the life skills that we do throughout the day."
• "My kids now can do their own laundry. They are nine and seven. And they can go in, put a load of laundry in, add the soap, take the laundry out of the washer after it's washed, put it in the dryer, run it through the dryer, pull it out, fold most of their clothes."

Takeaways:

• Involving kids in household chores can teach them valuable life skills, promote independence, and contribute to their overall development.
• Children as young as two years old can participate in simple tasks around the home, growing more capable with age and practice.
• Parents should adopt a phase-by-phase approach to teaching chores, mirroring the way children learn academic skills like reading and counting.
• Direct communication and positive reinforcement are key when instructing children on their tasks.
• It's beneficial for children to be part of the decluttering process, learning to release toys and items they no longer use or need.

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